I have put up on twitter and facebook the suggestion that we need a petition to state clearly what is wrong with the idea that Michael Gove comes up with policies based on his (or a tiny group of people's) wishes and that education polices are not emerging from comparing research and evidence or coming out of informed discussion from interested parties.
In my view, such a petition should come from one of the professional or union bodies rather than from me. Quite clearly, if it came from me I would be reproducing the very same problem that I'm criticising Gove for ie that policy comes from the whim or bias of one person!
So can I propose from here that NATE or LATE or NAPE or NUT or UKLA or some body come up with a very simple petition that teachers, parents and school students can sign? I offer this as a suggestion: something along the lines of
We, the undersigned wish to register our opposition to the way in which education policy is being devised. We object to the way in which this policy is emerging from the Secretary of State's personal bias and/or the views of a very small group of advisers. We propose instead that policy should be developed from research, evidence and informed discussion between interested parties.
I'm sure more experienced drafters of petitions could come up with something and a means to distribute the petition too...
